The Hanging Tree's Leafs
by Mars and Stars
Summary: Neither the clown nor bat could handle the new level of brutal murders, cunning robberies, and traceless kidnappings. So they put their ongoing game on hold and started a new one as allies.


**So this is my take on what would happen if a completely unrealistic character was added in Nolan's completely realistic universe: Poison Ivy's debut in the Nolanverse :)**

**I'm thinking about introducing an OC hero (or villain) so Bats and Joker don't have to work alone. It could act sort of as a mediator between them. I doubt they'd be able to work together with only eacother for long without a miracle!**

**So should I do it? I need input! Hero or Villain? Themed or not themed? Even male or female? Anything would help!**

**This may or may not become BatmanxJoker (I love the pairing, but I'm not sure if I could write it). It's a possibility for a sequel (that is, if I decided to write one), so the people who don't want it wont miss any of the storyline to avoid reading it, and the people who do get another storyline with the best ship in the UNIVERSE (OTP). So if you don't like the idea, sorry. **

**Also, if you want anything to happen (anything in general) in this, give me suggestions! I'll look over all of them and see what I can do.**

**Disclaimer: I am not Bob Kane or Christopher Nolan.**

In the middle of downtown Gotham, on the dilapidated rooftops, a dark figure cut through the night with speed so fast, no one could get a second glimpse. The caped crusader normally kept a watchful eye down on the littered ground for Gotham's filth- the muggers and rapists- and up to the polluted sky for the one light that Gotham had grown to fear and somehow feel sheltered with at the same time, the bat-signal. This night, however, was eerily different in nearly every aspect. The usual chilly and humid air was gone and replaced with uncomfortably warm and dry air. Streets filled the vigilante's view. There wasn't a crime in sight. And yet his cape flapped behind him, in pursuit of something. Or, rather, someone.

He jumped the narrow gap between an apartment and parking garage, landing perfectly, and stood up to face the one he'd been dreading to.

A silenced ensued upon the odd duo. Finally, the caped crusader pulled out a piece of notebook paper, littered with creases and small tears. "I got your note."

The other man replied with an ironically humorless tone, "Obviouslyyyy."

"I'm not helping you."

The second man stared at him long and hard with eyes like two black holes. "It's not really a question of whether or not I need your, uh, _help_, but whether you need _my_ help. This city you for some reason need to…ah… protec**t**? It can't survive with her."

"Why do you care?"

The man paused for a moment, nodding in deep thought. "This city is as fra-gile as a deck of cards." He pushed up the sleeves on his purple suit. "There's a perfec**t** balance between the suites. You see, we're like two kings in a deck with Gordon and the mayor. We _run_ this place, whether the citizens like it or not. But, tell me, _what. Happens._ When there's another kind? We can't continue this, uh, game with five kings and only four suites… well, then, everything just. Gets. _Crazy._"

"I don't trust you," came the gruff response almost immediately.

He drew a knife from his pocket, flicking it absentmindedly. "That's smart," the man grinned widely and licked his lips, "but nottt at the moment. I want her _gone_. She's too powerful; she's destroying this, ahem, **joke** of a city better than I ever could. I want… I want her gone. Now."

"So you can wreck this city yourself."

"No… well… yeah, kind of." He shrugged and continued smiling almost as big as his ego was. "I wont, uh, _stab_," he mimicked a stabbing motion in mid-air, "you in the back. I'm a man of my wor**d**-uh."

A throaty cough, almost like a laugh echoed across the rooftops and up into the night. It couldn't have been one though, under his current persona, hearing the vigilante laugh was rarer than, well, hearing a normal-sized bat laugh, much to his company's displeasure. "Last time you said that, you killed five people."

"…That was under different circumstances."

The vigilante crossed his arms, trying and failing to calm his tense muscles once again. He wasn't used to the presence of his enemy without any violence.

"Besides, I did say pea-pull would _die_ if you didn't, uh, reveal yourself."

They fell silent for what felt like eternity. The gloved man fidgeted with his knife impatiently while the caped man thought over his options carefully. It depended on whether he could defeat the woman with her god-given otherworldly powers himself. _I can't take her on alone, am I willing to risk working with the clown to try? There would be so many rules to make clear; so many precautions to take. But I can't let her win._

He finally responded hesitantly. "I need to make a few things clear."

The other man immediately stopped tracing the blade of his knife and paid full attention to his words. "I'm, uh, listening."

The vigilante swallowed. _Oh god, what am I getting myself into? "_First of all, this isn't one of your jokes. These are _lives_. If you ever try to kill someone while we're… working together, I won't hesitate to hand you over to Gordon. And I wont let you escape again."

The man with the purple coat shrugged pride carved into his smile. "Oh, I'd _still_ break out."

"I mean it, Joker."

The Joker sucked his cheeks in with a hint of distaste and dropped his smile. He narrowed his eyes, not in hostility, but in consideration. "Fine," he sighed after a prolonged silence. "Anything else?"

"No trying to figure out who I am."

"No problem. You're obviously an overgrown bat."

"That's…not what I… No one's allowed to know that were working together. Not even your clowns."

The Joker nodded and sighed. All these rules were ruining the fun!

"No going back on your word."

"Check."

"No stalking me."

"Why would I do that?"

"Don't pull any random pranks on me."

"Check."

"No more crime."

"Che… uh… wh-at?"

Batman uncharacteristically rolled his eyes at the notorious criminal. "You heard me, Joker."

The Joker's yellowed teeth clenched together. "I won't murder anyone. But that's it, Bat-sy."

"At least no hurting anyone then."

"Fine," the Joker agreed reluctantly. He knew he's regret it later, but her was desperate at the moment. Not that he's let Batsy know that. "But only while we're working with each other. As soon as this is all sai**d** an**d** **d**one, I'm going to-"

"Joker. This is completely abnormal anyway. I don't care what you do after this. We need to lock her in Arkham."

His counterpart muttered something in his usual high-pitched, nasally voice under his breath. It sounded like utter nonsense to Batman, although he knew the Joker well enough that he could tell he was only thinking aloud. After a few drawn out and tense seconds, the Joker stuck out his hand. The vigilante's muscles immediately sprang to a defensive position with record timing.

The only audible noises were the drops of water echoing across the abandoned garage. A light flickered and burned out. They stared each other down intensely, with narrowed eyes and hyper-alert brains.

The Joker finally sighed, "It's a _handshake_, bat-brain."

Batman was slowly shaken from his stance and skeptically raised his arm to meet the Joker's. They shook on it with more pressure than needed from both grips. Their eyes locked, and for once there was no trace of hostility. Only pure, unadulterated determination.

Their hands fell to their sides and dissipated some of the level of civility between them. Although they both had reason to voice the question '_what do we do now?_', both refused to as it would make them sound clueless to the other. Batman found the Joker's newfound rationality extremely awkward and in return, it made him feel vulnerable to his chaotic mind.

A police siren went off in the distance. A sick feeling in Batman's gut told him that it had to do with the current criminal queen. They exchanged glances and tore off their separate ways.

How the Joker managed to get to the crime scene so fast was something he'd never understand. But there he was, and despite all of Batman's jumping, running, flying, and use of the grappling gun, the clown was there already, absently picking at his nails. So there they stood on the roof, overlooking the police and dead bodies below them. A wall, likely containing a stairwell, loomed over them, its shadow protecting them from view of the cops.

The open wounds across the victims distorted them beyond recognition. Long, thick, and mocking vines that grew from the cracks in the sidewalk had wrapped them tightly from their ankles to their throats. _The likely cause of death is suffocation, _Batman thought grimly. He looked at the murderer behind his shoulder, who held up something small. Batman took it and read it, about to swear under his breath. "Where'd you find this?" he whispered, still with his usual gritty voice, as if the men in blue could hear him from seven stories away.

The Joker pointed to a spot on the ground. Batman read it again, this time with his jaw clenched.

_tOmoRow_

**So yeah that's my imagination. **

**Any suggestions or things you didn't like would be great. Also, like the AN in the beginning asked, does anyone like the idea of an OC hero or villain to (kind of) babysit our favorite characters? Please tell me!**

**Until next time,**

**EXIT STAGE RIGHT.**


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